Savior
by CUDDYownsPPTH
Summary: Sometimes even Miranda Priestly needs to be saved.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N 1: Hey guys! This is my very first "The Devil Wears Prada" fanfic. I so love the movie. Miranda is brilliant and Meryl even more. I have to admit though that sometimes Andy annoys me a little with her naivety and her whining.**

**However I do think that there is some kind of chemistry between Miranda and Andy. The fact that I like the "couple with age differences" storylines might have something to do with that too. I watched friends and even though I totally shipped Monica/Chandler I really loved the Monica/Richard relationship.**

**A/N 2: English is not my native tongue, so I needed a beta reader. And fortunately I found two very great ones: Thank you so much to merylomaniac (Anke) for reading through this chapter beforehand and correcting my mistakes and HUGE THANKS to Writer-Monkey-Esq who made this chapter to a much better one than it actually was by replacing some words and re-modeling some sentences. Thank you so, so much for that.**

**A/N 3: There is some violence in this story. You have been warned!**

**A/N 4: This story is set before Paris and it is just gonna be about 3-5 chapters long. Constructive feedback is very welcome.**

**A/N 5: you just read 4 A/Ns… You really deserve to read the first chapter now. :D Here you go:**

* * *

**Savior - Chapter 1**

Andy was late. Again.

She had promised Nate she'd have dinner with him at eleven, but there was no way she could make it on time. It had taken an hour longer than usual before The Book was made ready to be offered up to Miranda's critical eye and by the time Andy left the Elias Clark building it was already half past ten. And despite the fact that Roy was a magician when it came to traffic, the ride to the town house was going to take at least fifteen minutes.

She fidgeted in her seat and nervously tapped her fingers on The Book. Thankfully the streets were fairly empty, though she supposed her time in New York had skewed her perspective of how empty 'empty' was.

When the car stopped in front of Miranda's town house Andy took hold of the dry cleaning and leapt from her seat. She thanked Roy, briefly but sincerely, for the ride and bid him good night. She could've asked him to drop her off at the restaurant where she was supposed to meet Nate but she didn't really want to cause anyone else to miss out on time with their loved ones, not at this time of night.

Andy rummaged in her Jimmy Choo bag for the keys, almost losing her grip on The Book in the process. She yelped out a curse and mentally berated herself – why she couldn't have done this in the fifteen minutes it took to get here!? Her warm fingers touched cold metal and she breathed out a sigh of relief and let herself into the townhouse, before tip-toeing to the first table with the flowers and depositing the book.

She was on her way to the closet to hang up the dry cleaning when she heard it: Shouting.

She could barely make out the words, but the voice was _definitely_ male and _**definitely**_ angry. Andy was shocked - it was Stephen's voice.

With the dry-cleaning still hung over her arm she made her way to the stairs. She looked up but couldn't see anything.

The shouting was getting louder and she was able to make out some of what he was saying.

"…you and your precious magazine …you don't fucking care! …spoiling the kids …coldhearted bitch!"

Andy swallowed. He was shouting at Miranda. He was shouting at Miranda _Priestly_. Miranda Priestly who would kill with just one glance anyone that _dared_ to raise their voice to her.

Andy felt her hackles go up and goose bumps spread down her arms. She suddenly had the overwhelming urge to march up the stairs and punch Stephen in the face. She had never liked him. Ever. He was unfriendly and he drank far too much, far too often, but she would never have expected him to be this angry, this loud, or this aggressive. And she never would have dreamed that Miranda would simply… _let_ him. She had assumed that Miranda would sooner kick him to the curb than allow him to raise his voice to her or the girls. But she obviously hadn't, and she certainly wasn't. She didn't seem to do be doing anything. Stephen shouted and shouted and shouted but there was no response from Miranda... Nothing, not even a peep.

Andy knew that she should leave. If Miranda saw her she'd fire her. She'd fire her on the spot and make absolutely certain that she would never work in this city again. But to be honest: she didn't care. She didn't care at all. She couldn't leave right now... She couldn't. She was worried, worried what Stephen might do and how his outburst might end. She couldn't go now. Screw all the privacy rules, screw Emily who told her every single time not to stay in the house longer than absolutely necessary, and screw Nate and their reservation at her favorite Italian restaurant. She'd stay. She'd stay until she was sure he wouldn't do anything stupid.

Andy was torn away from her thoughts when the shouting suddenly stopped, and the silence gave her chills. She heard a quiet, muffled voice. She couldn't hear what was said but she did hear that a loud bump and a yelp followed.

_Oh, God – Miranda!_

She dropped the dry cleaning and sprinted upstairs, breaking a dozen or so of Miranda's rules in the process, but she didn't fucking care.

All noises had stopped so it was hard to tell where they were. There was no light on the first floor, so she hurried onto the second.

She heard movement and then Stephen's voice. He was much calmer now, but his voice had a cruel edge: "Would you look at that? Runway's Bitch weeps!"

There was no response from Miranda.

Andy entered the hallway and spotted Stephen through an open door, standing in what appeared to be the living room.

He smirked: "What would Page Six say if they could see you now?"

Before Andy could help herself, she was standing in the door frame. Miranda was sitting on the floor. Her cheek was red. Her eyes, teary. There was no doubt in her mind: the bastard had hit her.

Andy was out for blood.

Stephen stepped towards Miranda, his head cocked to the side. "…And what about your brats? …What would your brats say, hmm?"

Miranda's teary eyes hardened at his mention of her daughters. "Don't you _dare…_" she hissed.

He ignored her and laughed. "…They think you invincible, that their mother always has the upper hand... What would they think if they could see you lying there? If they could see you as you are – as nothing more than a pathetic old woman."

He reached for Miranda. He wasn't about to slap her, but Andy didn't care – she was not going to allow him to touch her again.

"Don't you fucking dare touch her!" She was surprised by the strength of her own voice.

Both Miranda and Stephen were startled, turning towards the voice in the doorway. Stephen looked surprised, and not a little pissed at this turn of events, but Miranda… Miranda looked mortified.

She was humiliated that Andrea had seen her like this. The look she sent her way made her shudder. Miranda would punish her for this, Andy was sure about that.

"Of course - your spineless slaves would throw themselves into oncoming traffic for you, wouldn't they? Will you still worship at the altar of La Priestly after seeing her like this? After seeing how pathetic she is?"

"The only pathetic one here is _you_… "Andy's voice was level but firm. "Step back." She demanded.

Stephen laughed, disregarding her instruction.

"I told you to step away from her!"

"Andrea… don't…" Miranda had lowered her eyes to the ground, and didn't seem able to lift them.

Stephen turned away from Miranda and stepped towards Andy.

_Oh shit._

Andy clenched her hands before he could see them tremble. She'd promised herself that she would remain calm.

"You _are_ bold for a gofer, aren't you?"

"And _you_ are surprisingly bold for a man that I've just called 911 on."

"You're bluffing."

"Really?" When she saw that he was getting nervous, her confidence rose.

"And even if… I was just having a discussion with my wife. Last time I checked that's not a crime."

"Hitting your wife, however, is… if I were you I'd run fast, and I'd run far."

He glanced back down at Miranda. Her cheek was so red, and beginning to purple – everyone would believe he hit her. He narrowed his eyes on Andy again and hissed: "You bitch."

"Better a bitch than an abusive drunkard."

But apparently that was one step too far. Stephen's face turned red and Andrea was sure that she was in for it now. He was going to strike her, and Miranda thought so too.

"Stephen!" Miranda's voice was firm, reminiscent of the woman Andy knew.

It was enough to make Stephen hesitate.

He looked at Andy, then at Miranda and stormed out.

For a second Andy felt paralyzed. She couldn't believe what just happened.

Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Miranda beginning to stand and, snapping out of her trance, immediately turned towards her.

"The girls…" Miranda's voice was purposefully level "I need… to check if he went upstairs."

"I'll check." Andy said and left the room to make sure he was actually gone. She walked to the staircase and looked down. She couldn't see him but she heard the front door slamming shut. Andy crossed the hallway and looked out the window and watched him get into his car. Ordinarily she would have been concerned about the fact that he was about to drive whilst heavily intoxicated, but these were not ordinary circumstances and Andy was just glad that he was gone. She waited until he pulled out of the parking spot before letting out a relieved sigh when he drove off.

As soon as his tail lights had disappeared from sight she returned to the living room. To her surprise Miranda was still on the floor. She seemed quiet, far too quiet.

Andy approached the woman gently. "He's gone now", she assured her.

The editor just nodded.

Andy offered her a hand to help her get up. Unsurprisingly Miranda made no move to take her assistant's hand. Instead she held onto the table nearby and pulled herself up. As soon as she was standing upright she straightened her skirt.

"God, Miranda! You're bleeding!" Andy exclaimed, her voice slightly panicky.

On Miranda's forehead was a little cut, and not a little blood. This injury hadn't been caused by the slap. What else did that bastard do to her?

Miranda's fingers went to her head. As they touched the cut and came away red she hissed between clenched teeth. "…Stupid table."

The woman had hit her head on the table when she'd fallen to the ground after Stephen had slapped her. Miranda may have had a steely temperament within the walls of Runway, and immense strength of will against the board members she fought, but she didn't stand a chance against the hand of a husband, a man almost twice her size. Not in a physical fight.

"I'm going to call an ambulance." Andy decided.

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm fine." Miranda wasn't able to meet Andrea's eyes. She wouldn't be able to stand the pity she'd find there.

"At least let me call the police."

"No."

Andy couldn't believe her ears. "You can't let him get away with this!"

"Where is The Book?" Miranda brushed past her to the sofa, completely ignoring Andrea's protest.

"Screw The Book! He hit you, Miranda!"

"Yes… and since I have no desire to read all about it on Page Six tomorrow, you will keep your little mouth shut."

Okay. Andy got it. Once the police was involved the possibility that the story would be leaked was bigger. A police car parked in front of Miranda Priestley's house at this hour couldn't help up draw attention.

"…So you're not going to do anything about this?"

"When I do something, Andrea, I will do it my way."

"And your way is what, exactly?" Usually Andy would never presume to ask such a question but today was hardly a day for 'usual'.

"It is certainly none of your business." Miranda ran her fingers gracefully through her hair, ensuring nothing was out of place. "Fetch The Book, Andrea."

"Let me clean your cut, Miranda - where do you keep your first aid kit?"

"Andrea, The Book." Miranda's voice had dropped to little more than a whisper but it had never sounded more threatening.

Andy acquiesced, and nodded. "I'll get it."

She went downstairs to get the 'Bible', and when she returned Miranda was sitting on the sofa. She held out her hand, still not meeting Andrea's eyes, waiting her to hand over The Book.

"Can I do anything else, Miranda?" Andy asked.

"That's all."

"Ok… then I… then I'll go?"

"Yes."

"My cell phone is on… the entire night. If you need anything… that is."

Miranda didn't respond to that. Neither did she respond to Andy's 'good night'.

* * *

Andy couldn't believe what had just happened. She couldn't believe that Miranda – the most independent and self-confident women she knew – had been struck by her own husband. She felt like she was just waiting to wake up, as though it were all just a bad dream, but despite how much she wished it were so she knew it wasn't the case. It had happened and she had no clue what to do now. Go against Miranda's wishes and call the police anyway? Trust that Miranda would do something? Go about her business like nothing had ever happened?

Andy could tell right now that Option 3 was _absolutely_ out of the question. She wouldn't sit by and do nothing. Women throughout history had fought hard for their rights, and fought hard for their freedom. She owed it to the Sisterhood to do something, even if it was just persuading Miranda to report the bastard to the police.

She folded her arms and tried to warm herself. She had left the townhouse a few minutes ago but she was still standing on the front step. It was cold, but even though she was freezing she couldn't bring herself to leave, despite however much she wanted to. What if Stephen came back? Miranda wouldn't call 911, she would try to deal with it herself – like she always did – and that would probably end just as badly as before… or maybe even worse. In the workplace Miranda was a strong woman. She silenced people with the lift of an eyebrow and cut them to shreds with a pursing of her lips. No one would ever in a million years conceive of the possibility that anyone would dare to hit her, let alone imagine that that person would be her own husband. And that was probably why Miranda was so afraid that this story would ever become public. It would destroy her reputation as the Head Bitch in Charge. Even worse: people would pity her. Miranda hated pity. It would destroy her.

Lost in thought, staring up at the townhouse, Andy startled at the voice behind her. "Of course you're here… Where else would you be." It wasn't a question.

For a fraction of a second she thought Stephen had returned, but it wasn't his voice. It was a far more familiar voice. Nate.

Oh shit! She had completely forgotten about their dinner plans!

"You used to at least feel the need to tell me when you weren't going to make it to dinner."

"Nate… I'm sorry."

"You always are, but you never actually _do_ anything to make sure that it won't happen again."

"I completely forgot about dinner."

"…Because it wasn't important to you."

"That's not true. We had to deal with a crisis, I couldn't leave earlier."

"What kind of crisis requires you to be standing at her door this late at night?"

"I was just taking a breath, Nate."

"And you couldn't do that on your way to the subway?"

Andy sighed. "Please… let's not do this now."

"No! Now is exactly when we are going to do this!"

"Nate, I'm tired."

"So am I! I'm tired of your job always coming first. I'm tired of you not showing up to our dates. I'm tired of you not showing up to my birthday party. I'm tired of getting woken up at 3-fucking-am because Miranda won't stop calling you with her ridiculous demands!"

"I'm Miranda's _assistant,_ Nate. My job is to _assist_ her, to be there when she needs me. It's my job to make her life easier, even if it _is_ at '3-fucking-am' in the morning. I knew my job… my _life_ was going to be _insanely_ busy when I signed the contract, and so did you."

"I didn't realize that meant you were going to be her personal slave."

"I'm not!"

"Andy, it is almost midnight and you are at her house!"

"…And? If I wanted a 9 to 5 job with fixed hours I would become a hairdresser or a saleswoman."

"She uses you."

Andy sighed. "Let's go home."

"You sure you don't want to stay? She might need someone to tuck her in, read her a bedtime story."

"You know what? _Screw you_." Andy brushed past him and simply walked away. She didn't wait for him to catch up. She didn't look back once. She didn't want to see his face or hear his voice. She had no patience to deal with him right now. She wasn't hugely sympathetic to his 'problems' at the moment. She had bigger concerns. Andy was concerned about Miranda. Like… _really_ concerned. Probably more than she should be.

She pulled her phone from her purse and texted Miranda.

"Call if you need something – no matter what, no matter when. My phone will be on me - Andrea"

Andy knew that her message was completely redundant. It wasn't as though Miranda had any qualms about calling her at all hours of the night. She needed no invitation, but somehow sending that text made Andy feel better.

She wasn't surprised when Miranda didn't respond. She hadn't expected her to.

* * *

Andy took a cab home. She wanted some peace from Nate and she knew that if she took the subway he would just sit himself down next to her and he probably would have continued their discussion and that really was the last thing she wanted.

Once she was in her apartment she immediately got ready for bed. She didn't even make herself a sandwich. She wasn't really hungry anyway. All the events of the night had ruined her appetite.

She heard Nate entering the apartment and she was more than relieved when he switched on the TV in the living room. He wouldn't be coming to bed for a while and she'd have a moment of much needed peace.

She checked her cell for new messages. Nothing. Not a single one. And even though she knew that Miranda never answered texts, she was worried. She was probably just overreacting but, hey… it was better to be safe than sorry, right? So she sent another text:

"I know u don't answer texts but please let me know if u r ok? He didn't come back did he?"

She waited 20 minutes before she sent another message:

"Miranda please let me know u r ok... Otherwise I'll come and check myself."

Just a few moments after she hit the send button her phone vibrated and the ringtone she should have been dreading by now penetrated her ears.

Andy immediately picked up. "Miranda?!"

"Have you lost your mind?"

Andy let out a sigh of relief. Miranda was okay… well as okay as you could be when your husband was a violent asshole.

"I was worried that he might come back."

"That is not an excuse to give me a headache with your constant text messages." Miranda said. Then her voice lowered, taking on a note of vulnerability that Andy didn't normally associate with her boss: "I put the key in the lock. This way he can't open the door from outside."

Andy was surprised Miranda shared this info with her. "Good."

"I want you to call a locksmith's shop first thing tomorrow. Have the locks of the front and the back door of the town house changed." The older woman ordered.

Andy's lips formed curved into a smile. "…My pleasure." She said.

"And get the girls this new video game they claim they can't live without."

"Sure. Was there anything else?"

"That's all."

Before she could say anything else Miranda had already hung up.

Andy fell asleep only a few moments later, her phone lying next to her pillow.

**TBC...**


	2. Chapter 2

**WOW... Thank you so much for your incredible feedback! You guys are amazing! Your reviews totally inspire me! Thanks so much :D**

**Now I've got some good and some bad news for you. **

**Good news: I put you out if your misery and uploaded the next chapter ;D**

**Bad news: It is not beta read. It seems that my beta readers abandoned me.  
**

**Enjoy reading! :D**

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**Chapter 2**

The line at Starbuck's was longer than usual and was the reason why Andy arrived 10 minutes late for work. She expected Emily to make a huge scene but surprisingly the first assistant was calm and not at the verge of a mental breakdown. "That's a first", Andy thought.

"You can drink that yourself. She is not coming in today." The Brit gestured at the Starbucks cup in Andy's hand as her colleague entered the office.

"She is not coming in?"

"That's what I just said."

"Why?"

Emily rolled her eyes and snapped: "How should I know? I certainly wasn't stupid enough to ask."

Andy sat down behind her desk and started worrying. Again.

* * *

Unsurprisingly Miranda called several times during the day. Andy's cell didn't ring once though. She always phoned Emily. Her instructions however, were mainly for Andy:

"Tell Andrea to get the new Hermes scarves."

"Send Andrea to the bookstore and have her get that book I wanted to read."

"Did Andrea already book my flight to LA next week? If yes tell her to cancel it again."

"Did Andrea get the video game for the girls?"

"Tell Andrea to bring dinner for the girls and me when she delivers the book. Order something from that place Cassidy likes so much."

The last instruction implied of course that the book needed to be finished earlier. The girls' bedtime was at 9 so the dinner better be there by 7, 7:30 at latest.

Andy made sure to call the design department twice to inform them that the book had to be finished earlier today. She wanted there to be no reason for Miranda to complain. She wanted to serve her everything she asked for on a golden tablet and on time. She had this naïve hope that fulfilling Miranda's every wish would somehow make the editor feel better about what had happened yesterday. Or maybe she just wanted her to know: screw Stephen, I can take better care of you.

When Andy realized her brain's last thought she groaned and buried her head in her hands. Until a few weeks ago she had just thought she cared about Miranda because she was her boss and because she was – despite all – a human being. But then she had realized that it was more. A girl crush. She hadn't really been worried about it though. It had been harmless. It had been like Lilly's crush on Cher and that other actress she forgot the name of. But ever since Miranda had started calling her "Andrea" something had changed. Something essential.

She couldn't stop thinking about Miranda. About her face, about her hair and about her voice. God, her voice! It was so incredibly soft and so damn threatening at the same time. It fascinated her. And apart from that she couldn't help but ask herself non-stop how Miranda was doing. Especially after last night.

How screwed up was that? She was in a relationship with a hot, sweet guy and suddenly all she could think about was her boss who was not just twice as old as she was but who also was a woman. It was weird. She never had been in love with a woman before.

Actually she had just been in love twice: the first time was with her history teacher. Nothing had happened between them though - he was married - but she had been head over heels in love with him. Then she had met Nate. She hadn't fallen for him immediately but his cute smile had won her over soon. And the first few years with him had been great. Really great. They had been a great couple. She had felt happy. But then she had changed and he hadn't. And especially since she started working at Runway and since she got to know Miranda it had become obvious that they wanted completely different things in life.

Andy groaned. What the hell did Miranda do to her?! Months ago she still had been convinced that Nate was The One for her. That they'd stay together forever. And now... Now she felt annoyed by him. Annoyed and misunderstood.

And all this was Miranda's fault.

* * *

Andy entered townhouse. The locks had been changed but she had made sure that she got the new keys right away.

She put the dry cleaning away and placed the book where she always put it.

She wasn't sure what to do now. Where was she supposed to put the dinner? Should she just leave it next to the book? Or should she place it somewhere else?

"Andrea?" Miranda's voice came from the kitchen.

"Yes?"

"Where's my supper?"

"Its right here. Do you want me to bring it into the kitchen?"

"Where else would you bring it?!"

Andy crossed the hallway and entered the kitchen. She wasn't surprised that it turned out to be bigger than her entire apartment. Nate probably would faint if he ever saw that huge stove.

Miranda was setting up the table. It was weird to see her do such an every day task. She didn't pay any attention to Andy. She didn't even look up at her when she said: "Put it on the counter."

Andy did as she was told. She placed the bag with the novel and the video games Miranda had requested next to it and then turned around to face her boss. She probably should have just left but she refused to go home before Miranda told her that she was doing ok.

"Did he come back?"

"I don't see how this is any of your business." Miranda said as she got a bottle of mineral water from the fridge. And just as she was about to put the bottle on the table, Andy saw it. A purple bruise right below her left eye.

Suddenly the puzzle fell into place. That's why she didn't come to work today and why she avoided looking at her. How could she possibly have been so stupid and not gotten that earlier? Of course there would be a bruise. Stephen had hit her pretty hard and the fact that she fell down and bumped into the table certainly didn't make her injury any better.

Andy winced. "Oh my god, Miranda." She took a step towards her. Her hand immediately shot up to her cheek but Miranda caught it right before Andrea could touch her.

"What do you think you are doing?"

Good question. What was she doing? There was no reason for her to touch Miranda's bruise

"Ehm… I just wanted to…" Andy started to explain but gave up after just a moment and murmured: "Sorry." She withdrew her hand from Miranda's grip and took a step backwards, away from Miranda. Her boss' touch left her skin burning.

"Did you bring the novel I wanted and the video games for the girls?"

"Of course", Andy cleared her throat and pointed at the bag on the counter.

"That's all then."

"Ok. Then good night."

No answer from Miranda.

Andy was just about to leave the kitchen when Miranda stopped her by saying her name: "Andrea."

"Yes." Andy turned around, facing her.

"I want you to set up an appointment with Shannon. As soon as possible."

Oh shit! Andy had no clue who Shannon was. She never had needed to contact anyone named Shannon since she started working here.

She should have just nodded and asked Emily afterwards who this Shannon person was but instead she asked Miranda. She obviously was in a suicide mood today.

"Sorry Miranda but… who's Shannon?"

Miranda rolled her eyes and sighed that annoyed but oh-so-elegant sigh of hers. "Shannon Wheeler. My divorce lawyer."

For a moment Andy was shocked. Then her expression turned into a soft smile.

"Nice to know that the failure of my marriage amuses you."

"God no!" Andy immediately said. "I'm just glad that you take actions after… you know… after what happened."

"Did you seriously think I'd stay with that sorry excuse of a husband any minute longer?"

"I had hoped you wouldn't. But I wasn't completely sure."

"Well … now you can be." Miranda said as she put the take out boxes on the dinner table.

Andy smiled again. "I will call Shannon first thing in the morning."

"Good."

"Anything else?"

Miranda shook her head no. "That's all."

* * *

Andy had just opened the front door of the town house and was about to leave when someone stopped her once again.

"Andy!"

She turned around and found herself looking at Miranda's girls.

"Hey guys." Andy smiled at the twin girls who were standing at the bottom of the staircase.

Andy had –against Miranda's orders – talked to her daughters a few times when she had delivered the book. They were cheeky little girls but they were incredibly smart. Just like their mother.

"Have you seen mom?", asked Caroline.

"Yes, she's in the kitchen."

"We know that. But we mean… have you seen IT?" Cassidy.

Oh… they meant the bruise.

"I have." Andy admitted.

"She said she run into a door frame, but we don't believe her…"

"Mom never runs into anything." Caroline finished her sister's sentence.

"I think you should talk to your mom about this." Andy didn't know what else to say.

"Stephan hit her, didn't he?" Caroline's facial expression was full of worry.

Andy was paralyzed she had no clue what to do or what to say. Miranda would fire her if she told them the wrong thing. No… she would kill her. And she would do this with just one single glance.

Thankfully though the task was taken out of Andy's hand. Miranda apparently had heard them talking and joined them in the hallway. "Yes… He did. He was drunk and he didn't know what he was doing." She said. She had come to the conclusion that the girls deserved to know the truth. She obviously couldn't lie to them anyway, they were too smart for their own good.

Cassidy started crying. Caroline just looked at the floor.

"Oh bobbsy. Come here." Miranda said and indicated her daughter to come and give her a hug.

Cassy immediately run into the embrace her mother offered and threw her arms around her.

"You too, Caro." Miranda looked at her other girl.

Caroline looked up and said. "I hate him." Then she joined her sister in the arms of their mother.

Miranda squeezed her girls tightly and kissed both their foreheads.

Andy was still standing in the hallway, watching the scene in front of her. It was incredible how tender Miranda was to her girls. She was like a completely different person. And somehow this made her fall for her even more.

Miranda's voice brought Andy back from her thoughts: "Andrea, you can leave now."

Andy swallowed and nodded.

She looked at Miranda and the girls for a last time and took in the image. Then she left the townhouse and vanished into the illuminated streets of New York City.

* * *

Andy was startled awake by her phone. With half open eyes she fumbled for her cell on the bedside table. When she finally found it she checked the caller ID. Miranda. Of course. Who else would it be?

"Miranda? Is everything ok?"

"No."

"Is Stephen there?"

"No."

"What's wrong then?"

"What's wrong? You wanna know what's wrong?! I'll tell you what's wrong… I'm getting divorced… for the third time… because my husband turned out to be a violent drunkard… and my kids… my girls… they worry… and they are so young…"

"Miranda are you? … are you drunk?"

"The hell I am… Stephen apparently thinks drinking solves allllll the problems… so I tried it too. Works perfectly fine, don't you think?"

"Are the girls asleep?"

"Not here. Having a sleepover."

"Do you want me to come over?", Andy asked.

"No."

"Ok."

"I just want this to be over."

"What do you mean?"

"My marriage."

"It will be over soon… I'll call Shannon tomorrow and tell her you need an appointment as soon as possible."

"I shouldn't have… married him… I just… I thought he would be good to the girls…"

"Don't blame yourself, Miranda."

"Hey! I'm trying to fucking sleep here!" Nate – who was laying next to her and who Andy had completely forgotten about – shouted.

Andy rolled her eyes. "Hold on a second Miranda." She got out of bed and left the room, making sure she slammed the door shut.

"Are you sure that I shouldn't come over?" Andy said and dropped down on the couch in the living room.

"Yes... Good Night." And Miranda hung up. Just like that, in the middle of the conversation.

Andy leaned her head against the back of the couch and let out a loud sigh. She was worried. Once again. Miranda never got drunk. She never did anything that made her lose control or that made her seem weak. This phone call was totally out of character for her. And this scared Andy. Miranda seemed to be worse than she thought.

Andy closed her eyes for a few seconds before she got up and went to put on some clothes.

"What are you doing?" Nate murmured in a sleepy voice when Andy pulled a pullover out of her closet.

"Emergency at work." It was almost the truth. At least it was as close to the truth as she would ever tell him.

"You have got to be kidding me… an emergency… at 3am? What happened? Did Kelvin Klein deliver dresses in the wrong color? Or does Miranda need you to read her a bedtime story this time?"

"Shut up." Andy slipped on her pullover.

"This is ridiculous, Andy."

"No. This is my job. And this job opens possibilities I didn't even dare to dream of before."

"So far its just depriving you from sleep and it is destroying your private life."

"You know what?" Andy said. "If you can't deal with me putting afford into my career then we are probably wrong for each other."

"Maybe."

"Well then… We better end this now."

"Seriously?!" He was shocked.

"You just agreed that this isn't working!"

"We can try harder."

"No. I'm done trying. I'm done feeling bad every time I stay at work late. I'm done justifying everything I do." Andy crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I want you to be gone when I get back from work in the evening."

"What?!"

"You heard me."

"Andy come on." Nate got up from bed and walked towards her. He reached for her hand but she pushed him away, hard enough for him to realize that she wasn't kidding.

"My mind is made up." Andy's voice was much steadier than she had thought it would be. "I have to go now."

She turned around and left a stunned Nate in her apartment while she made her way over to her bosses house.

* * *

Andy texted Miranda that she was coming over and since Miranda did not call to tell her to stay the hell where she was, Andy took a cab to the townhouse. She let herself in and went upstairs.

She found Miranda in the first room she looked in: the study.

Miranda was sitting on the couch. She was still fully dressed in her work clothes. Her hair was a mess though and her mascara was a little smudged. A glass filled with brown liquid was in front of her on the couch table. Probably whiskey.

"I told you not to come." Miranda hissed.

"I'm here anyway."

"Please go ahead and state some more obvious facts, it's not tedious at all."

Andy smiled a little. She shouldn't love Miranda's sarcastic comments as much as she did.

"What?" Miranda hissed when she saw the smile on her assistant's face. "Is it amusing for you to see me like this? Is this why you came despite my clear instructions not to? Why don't you just take a picture of me and sell it to some gossip magazine?… I can already see the headline… 'The fall of the ice queen'… 'Another Mr. Priestly is gone but the Runway icon already has a new man on her side: Mr. Jack Daniels.' Oh Irv would just love this… then he finally had a reason to get rid of me."

"You have definitely had enough of this." Andy said as took the glass out of her boss' hand and put it on the chest of drawers on the other side of the room – far away from Miranda.

Andy then dropped down next to the older woman on the couch. "I'm here because I'm worried, not because I'm part of some secret conspiracy and you know that perfectly well."

"Oh please… I'm not drunk enough to let you fool me. If you are not here to rat me out then you are here to suck up to me."

"I'm off the clock, Miranda. I'm here as a friend."

Miranda started laughing. A desperate laugh. "A friend," she repeated and started laughing even harder. Then, after a few moments she suddenly stopped. "You don't have friends in this business."

"Well… now you have one."

"God… how naive can a person possibly be?", Miranda tried to get up but lost her balance and almost fell over. Andy gripped her arm just in time to keep her steady.

With Andy's hand still on her arm, Miranda sat back down on the couch and groaned. "I'm feeling sick."

"How about you lie down for a bit? I'll help you to your room." Andy's thump drew soft, soothing circles on her bosses upper arm.

"No. I still have to go through the book." She snatched her arm free from Andy's grip. She apparently had just realized that her assistant's hand had still been on hers. This was a no-go. No one she worked with was allowed to touch her! Though – to her great surprise – she had to admit that those soft, warm fingers on her arm had felt kinda… nice.

"You sure you still can do that?" Andy realized how stupid her question was as soon as she asked it.

"Of course I can!" The indignation in Miranda's voice was kind of cute.

"Ok." Andy knew that there was nothing she could say to change Miranda's mind. There was no point in starting an argument. "I'll get you some water and an aspirin."

Miranda – for a change – didn't protest.

When Andy came back with a glass of water and an aspirin that she got from her purse, Miranda was asleep. She had passed out on the couch.

Andy put the pill and the water on the couch table and looked for a blanked. She found one on the armchair and carefully covered Miranda with it.

For a moment Andy just stood there looking at the older woman in front of her. And even though her appearance was far from what Miranda would consider perfect, for Andy she looked exactly that – perfect.

For a second she considered staying but thank god she came to her senses just moments after that crazy thought had popped into her pretty little head. She looked at Miranda one more time and then she left.

_**TBC...**_

* * *

**constructive feedback is always welcome :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Merry Christmas everybody!**

**Guys you are so great! Thank you so much for the great feedback. It makes me really, really happy. I'm glad you are enjoying this story. **

**This chapter isn't beta read. I did send it to someone about 2 weeks ago and asked them to proof read it. If that someone will do it I will upload the beta read version as soon as I get it.**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Andy didn't return to her apartment after she left the townhouse. She had no desire to see Nate. They sure had a lot to talk about but this didn't have to happen today. It probably was even better if they let some time go by before they talked. They needed to let it settle in. Even Andy. She was the one that broke up with him but this didn't mean that it was easy for her, that she didn't hurt or that she wasn't sad. They had spent several great years together. And Andy had loved him for the majority of those years. This break up wasn't a piece of cake for her but she knew that it had been necessary, that it had been the right thing to do. They weren't right for each other. Not anymore. He was an adorable slob who never planned ahead and she was ambitious, she wanted a career, she wanted to be someone. The break-up was inevitable.

Andy spent 2 hours at Starbucks reading and answering e-mails and drinking a lot of coffee before she went to the office at 6am.

Unsurprisingly Emily was already there. She sat behind her desk franticly typing something on the computer.

"Morning." Andy said and forced a little smile on her face.

Emily didn't greet back. Instead she groaned and announced: "I can't reach Miranda!"

"She's probably still asleep. She isn't feeling well. I doubt she'll come in today."

"And you know that because she told you?"

"I saw her when I delivered the book yesterday. She has a …eh… cold." Andy lied.

"Great! Just great!" Emily said in a thick British accent. "Lagerfeld wants her to call him ASAP and she doesn't pick up and it will all be my fault… She is going to bloody fire me."

"Calm down, Emily. She is not going to fire you. Its not your fault that she doesn't pick up."

"Its always our fault, Andrea. You should know that by now."

Andy sighed. "Just continue calling her."

* * *

It was almost 10 when Miranda finally called Emily back. She didn't fire her. In fact she was unusually… nice. She even told Emily that she appreciated how hard she tried to reach her and that she wanted her – and not Andrea – to deliver the book that night.

When Emily told Andy, she was crushed. Why did Miranda suddenly want Emily to deliver the book? Did she cross a line by coming over to the townhouse this morning? It wasn't something a usual employ would do but then again there was nothing usual about her job either. And apart from that: she hadn't been there as an employee, not really… she was there as a friend, as a person who genuinely cared about Miranda's well being. But this was probably Miranda's problem. She doesn't need a friend like her. She was just her assistant. She was below her. So far below…

These thoughts didn't let go of Andy for the entire day. Even when she got home to an empty apartment the thoughts of Miranda were still present.

Nate had moved out. His things were gone. But all she could think about was Miranda.

Yes, she definitely was screwed up.

* * *

Andy didn't sleep much that night. She missed Nate… No, actually she missed a warm body next to her. She didn't miss Nate in particular. Especially not his messiness, his complaints and his look of reproach but she missed having someone around, someone to keep her warm, someone to hold her. It would probably take awhile till she got used to being alone again.

She hadn't gotten any calls that night. Not even one. She guessed things were going smoothly at work and that Emily had handled everything that had come up. She should be much more relieved about this than she actually was. She had wanted Miranda to call to remind her of a task she had fulfilled already or of a task that was actually not part of her job but which she would do anyway.

When she entered the Elias Clark building at 7am she could already sense that Miranda was back. She thought she could smell her perfume in the entrance hall and she felt this little tickle that told her Miranda was around.

As Andy stepped off the elevator she already saw Emily hurrying past her with a few bags in her arms. "She is back." Emily said in a wheezy voice. "And she is not in a good mood."

"Great." Andy murmured more to herself than to Emily and dropped down behind her desk. Before she could even switch on the computer Miranda called her.

"Andrea?"

She jumped from her office chair and hurried into her boss' office. "Yes?"

"Close the door." Ordered Miranda. She was wearing a black Channel pantsuit that fit her so well that you would think it was made just for her. And the funny thing was: this might even be the case.

Andy did as she was told and closed the door. She was nervous. She had no clue what to expect.

"Sit down." Miranda gestured at one of the chairs in front of her desk.

Ok now it's getting creepy. Closing the door AND sitting down? What the hell was going on here?

Andy looked suspiciously at her boss but sat down.

Miranda put the photos she had been looking at aside and removed her reading glasses. "I… wanted to apologize. My behavior last night was beyond unprofessional."

Andy was surprised. More than surprised actually. She was stunned. Miranda apologizing for something she did. That's a first. "Its okay, Miranda."

"No. It was inacceptable."

"I'm not going to tell anyone if this is what you are worried about."

"I know you won't. You are far too loyal."

"You say it like it's a bad thing."

"Sometimes it is."

"I don't think so."

"Well… You are gonna change your mind. Because … you are fired."

BOMBSHELL!

"What?!" Andy almost shouted.

"You are fired." Miranda repeated in a calm, casual voice like all of this was no big deal at all.

"I didn't do anything wrong. You can't just fire me."

"I can and I did." There wasn't even a hint of emotion in her voice. "Give your security card and your keys to Emily and then… leave."

Andy was trying hard to hold her tears back. She wasn't going to cry, not in front of Miranda. She wouldn't give her that satisfaction. No way.

When Andrea didn't show any inclinations to leave, Miranda decided to end their conversation like she usually did. By being cold, bitchy and insensitive: "That's all."

Andy could not believe it. Could Miranda get any more disrespectful and offensive? First she fires her, then she refuses to give her a reason and now she kicks her out of her office? Just like that?

The younger woman got up from the chair and threw the notebook she never was without and she wrote all of Miranda's tasks and appointments in at her boss' desk.

"Screw you, Miranda Priestly. SCREW. YOU." Andy said in a low but steady voice. Then she turned around and left Miranda's office. For a second she thought about slamming the door shut but decided against it. The "screw you" was enough.

"Can you head to James Holt's and get the new sketches? Miranda wants them before noon." Emily asked without looking up from the computer.

"No."

"No?!" Emily finally tore her eyes away from the screen and settled them on Andrea.

"This is not my responsibility anymore."

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?", Emily wanted to know.

"She fired me."

"She what?!" Emily almost shouted. "Why?!"

"I don't know." A tear escaped Andy's eye. She wiped it away immediately.

"Has she gone completely bonkers? Paris fashion week is in a month… We have no stand in for you… I think I'm gonna faint." That was typically Emily. It was always about her.

"Then go and eat a cheese cube." Andy said. She put the keys for the townhouse and the security card for the Elias Clark building on Emily's desk and left.

* * *

"Have you lost your mind?", Nigel barged into Miranda's office.

The editor looked at Nigel surprised and responded with a counter question. "Have you lost your manners?"

"You fired Andy."

"People stating obvious facts thrill me every time."

"Cut the crap Miranda! And tell me what's going on."

"You better watch your words before I decide to lay-off my art director as well."

Nigel ignored her words. "Why did you fire her?"

"I don't see how this is any of your concern."

"Why?!" He asked again. This time his voice was louder. He had stopped fearing Miranda a long time ago. He knew that she wouldn't fire him over something like this. She respected him and his opinion, even if she didn't always agree with him.

"I don't need a reason. The contract clearly states that I can lay her off at any time without any reason whatsoever."

"Andy made all our lives easier, especially your life. You always complain about how incompetent your assistants are and when you finally find a competent one you fire her. Excuse me that I wanna know what's going on here."

"You know how I hate to repeat myself, Nigel."

"Emily is swamped. You can't just leave her without a stand-in for Andy."

"I already told her to find a replacement."

Nigel shock his head in disbelieve and returned to his office without saying another word.

* * *

Andy had stopped crying hours ago. She came to the conclusion that Miranda didn't deserve her tears. Andy had been there for Miranda 24/7. Whenever she had needed anything she had been ready to do it. Always. And especially after the last few days Andy had thought that something had changed between them, that they had become some strange kind of friends but this obviously wasn't the case. For Miranda she had been just some faceless, unimportant assistant. She felt like a fool.

Andy dropped down on her couch and switched on the TV. She wanted to distract herself. She wanted to stop thinking about Runway, about fashion and especially about Miranda but her doorbell threw a monkey wrench in her plans.

She wanted to ignore it. She had no desire to talk to anyone right now but the visitor was stubborn and rang the bell again and again and again and again.

"I know you are here Six. I can hear the TV."

Nigel.

"Go away."

"I won't."

Andy sighed but got up from the couch anyway and schlepped herself to the front door.

"You look terrible", Nigel said instead of a greeting.

"You being charming is exactly what I need right now." Andy murmured.

Nigel squeezed passed Andy and entered her apartment. "Wow… the cage of the hamster I had as a kid was bigger than this lousy apartment of yours."

"Is there a reason you came here other than to make me feel even worse?"

"I wanna know what happened." Nigel sat down at the couch and switched off the TV.

"I would like to know that too."

"She didn't give you a reason? None?"

"Nope. Not a single one."

"Do you have an idea?"

"Not really..." Andy couldn't tell Nigel about her witnessing Stephen hitting Miranda and neither could she tell him about her little drinking incident last night. She couldn't betray her trust. Not even now.

"Things at the office are frantic already. Emily is about to go nuts."

"This isn't my problem anymore, is it?"

"Talk to Miranda again. She has a soft spot for you, we all know that. Maybe she'll reconsider her decision."

"When does Miranda ever reconsider anything? And I'm certainly not going to beg her to get my job back."

"What are you going to do then?"

Andy shrugged. "I guess I'll go back home and move in with my parents again. I can't afford this apartment without a job and god knows how long it will take me to get a new one."

"Don't give up now, Andy. Send applications to every newspaper and magazine in the city, your resume is outstanding someone is going to hire you."

"They didn't hire me before Runway and they certainly won't do it now after I got fired."

"Maybe they will, maybe they won't. You don't know. So try and find out."

TBC...

* * *

**Thanks for reading :D**

**I'm almost done with the next chapter so it shouldn't be too long till I post it.**

**Have fun and peaceful holidays and a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello people! **

**Thanks so much to each and everyone of you that left me some feedback. You rock! Please keep it coming! It really helps me to write. It spurs me on :)**

**Here is the next chapter. Its not beta read, so all mistakes are mine and mine alone ;)**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Miranda knew she had made a mistake as soon as Andy had left her office. But now it was too late. She would never admit that she did the wrong thing. She stuck by her decisions. Always. It was one of the first things she had learned in this business: if you wanna be taken seriously make a choice and stand by it. Changing your opinion every five seconds is not what makes you an authority.

But sticking by her decision was hard this time, really hard. That silly girl had somehow managed to get to her. The way she always looked at her with that huge brown eyes and the way she smiled at her made her somehow feel like someone special. People were looking at her admiringly all the time but they were admiring the editor of Runway, the fashion queen. But Andrea had seen her at her lowest. Andrea had seen her sitting on the floor like a picture of misery after her own husband had hit her and she had seen her drunk out of her mind and she had listened to her grumbling. And despite all that the young woman still looked at her like she was the most fascinating person on the entire planet.

And all this was why she had fired her. She had fired her to protect herself from getting too attached to Andrea. She had fired her to push her away. Andrea had become involved in her private life. No other assistant had ever dared to do that. And if they had tried Miranda would have raised an eyebrow and they would have known in an instant that they had crossed a line. But with Andrea it had just happened. She hadn't turned around and left when she had heard Stephan shouting. Instead she had decided to check on her, to check if she was okay. And when she had noticed that Miranda hadn't been ok at all she had dropped everything to come to her rescue. The girl hadn't cared about a raised eyebrow. She had ignored the warning glares and the harsh words. She also had ignored them last night as she had came to the town house to check on her even though she had clearly told her not to. Andrea hadn't come because it was her job, she had come because she cared and that's what scared Miranda. An assistant should not care about the boss nor should the boss care about the assistant.

And that was why firing her had been necessary. Miranda does not want to care about that smart girl that was a walking crime to fashion and she doesn't want the girl to care about her either. But deep down she knew that it was already too late to prevent that from happening.

* * *

It took Andy two days till she stopped feeling sorry for herself. She decided that she needed to move on. Runway was history and so was Miranda. Her time in the world of fashion was over. Passé. Passato. Vorbei.

She was going to send her application to every freaking newspaper in the city and she will blow them away with her qualifications. She will convince them that they needed her in their team. She will…

Andy's thoughts were interrupted by the loud ringing of her phone. She looked at the caller ID, she didn't know the number.

She accepted the call. "Hello?"

"Andy?"

It took her a while till she recognized the voice. "Caroline?" She asked. Andy was surprised. The twins had never called her before. Why did they call her now that she wasn't working for their mother anymore?

"Its Cassidy."

Andy could tell them apart when she saw them but on the phone it was impossible. "Hey."

"Hi."

"What can I do for you Cassy?"

"I know you don't work for mom anymore but we need your help."

She should say no. She sooooo should say no. But who was she kidding? She couldn't say no. Not to anyone with the surname Priestly. "Sure. What's going on?"

"Its Stephen."

Andy was immediately alarmed. "Did he hurt you? Or you mom?"

"No… But he is back."

"What do you mean he is back?"

"He moved back in."

"What?!" Andy couldn't believe what she was hearing. What the hell happened to Miranda? Was she the one who fell down and smacked her head on the pavement this time?

"Mom said they are gonna try to fix their marriage. But we don't want him back, Andy… He is not good for her… or for us."

"No… he definitely isn't."

"Can you talk to mom?"

"I don't know if this is the best idea sweetie, your mom probably doesn't wanna see me… let alone talk to me."

"Please Andy. We don't know what else to do."

Andy sighed. "Ok. I'm coming over."

The girl squealed. "Thanks Andy! You are the best."

* * *

The girls were more than relieved when Andy got to the townhouse. They had noticed that their mother had some kind of soft spot for the young woman. And even though they didn't know why Miranda had fired her, they still believed that Andy could somehow get through to their mother.

"Mom's upstairs is in the study", said Cassidy after she and her sister opened the front door and found Andy standing at the threshold.

"Is Stephen around?"

Caroline shook her head no. "He is at work."

"Good." Andy was relieved. The last thing she wanted was to see him. That guy disgusted her.

She told the girls to wait in the living room before she went upstairs.

Andy softly knocked at the wooden door to Miranda's study and opened it up after she heard her ex-boss inviting her in.

Miranda was sitting behind her desk, the book in front of her. She was clearly surprised to see Andrea. She probably had expected Andy to be one of the girls. "What are you doing here?!", Miranda's voice was harsh.

"I wanna talk to you."

"You are not getting your job back."

"I know. That's not why I'm here."

"If you are hoping for a recommendation I have to disappoint you."

"The girls asked me to come", Andy decided that it was best to come straight to the point.

Now Miranda looked even more surprised. "Why would they do that?"

"They are worried. They said that Stephen is back and that the divorce is off."

"This is a family matter and nothing of your concern."

Andy took a few steps closer towards Miranda's desk. "You sounded so sure when you asked me to contact your divorce lawyer."

"Andrea, you know how much I despise to repeat myself."

"He hit you, Miranda!"

"I want you to leave my house."

Andy ignored her. She had nothing to lose, she already was fired. "What if he hits the girls next?"

"Leave!" Miranda's voice was firm and threatening. If Andy still had been her assistant she'd have caved immediately.

"How can you do this to them? How can you allow a violent man to be around them?", Andy had no clue where her sudden confidence came from. Usually she was a stuttering mess when she talked to Miranda. But ever since she wasn't working for Runway anymore it was much easier for her to stand up to the older woman.

Miranda got up from behind her desk. She was mad, really mad. "How dare you come here and meddle into my life like that. Leave my house this instant or I'll call the police", she hissed.

It was both – amazing and creepy how scary Miranda sounded. How can something you say in such a calm and quiet voice sound so damn terrifying?

"Ok… I'll go." Andy gave up. This wasn't going anywhere. She was wasting her time here. She turned around and walked towards the door that would lead her to the hallway. She was almost out of the room when she was suddenly stopped by a quiet "wait".

"He's blackmailing me." It was hardly louder than a whisper. Andy wasn't even sure if Miranda had really said it.

"What?!"

"Is there anything wrong with your hearing, Andrea?"

"He is blackmailing you?!"

Miranda rolled her eyes. "Did you honestly think I'd take that good-for-nothing husband back voluntarily?"

"What is he blackmailing you with?", Andy wanted to know.

"Doesn't matter."

"It does. Maybe I can help."

"You can't."

"What is it?"

"Its something I have to deal with on my own."

"So you are just going to let him move back in?"

"Until I come up with a plan, yes."

"Is he threatening to do something to the kids?", Andy dared to ask.

"No."

"To you?"

"No."

"What then?"

Miranda sighed and cleared her throat. It annoyed her beyond words who damn stubborn Andrea was. "He… ehm… he has some pictures."

"What pictures?"

"Of me."

It took Andy a few seconds to realize what kind of pictures Miranda meant. "Oh."

"He is sending them to the press if I decide to go through with the divorce."

"Woa… What an asshole!"

"This is not a reason to throw around barbaric words, Andrea."

"Sorry."

Miranda raised her eyebrows and continued explaining. "If it wasn't for the girls I wouldn't really care that much… The pictures are not that inappropriate. I am not… naked. There is lingerie… But the girls would think god-knows-what when they see pictures of me like that in the newspaper." It was hard for Miranda to talk about it. She wasn't used to it that she could tell someone about her problems and her fears.

Andy nodded. She understood. "Where are the pictures right now?"

"On a USB stick. I already looked through Stephan's belongings but couldn't find it. Its probably in his office."

"Then lets do some snooping there."

"No. This is out of question. There is no way we can get into his office without him or anyone else noticing…"

"We'll find a way."

"Why do you care anyway, Andrea? You are not working for me anymore."

"Just because I'm not on your payroll any longer doesn't mean that no longer care… I don't know why you fired me and I am still pissed about it but I told you the other night that I am your friend and I meant it. You grew on me over the last few months, god knows why… but I wanna make sure that you are save."

Miranda swallowed. Andrea's honesty overwhelmed her a little. "This was exactly the problem."

"What do you mean?"

"You are not capable of just having a professional relationship with people. You always have the need to befriend them."

"That's not true."

"Oh, it's not? So I am only imagining you standing here, in my home in this horrendous ocher H&M rag trying to meddle into my private life?"

"This is different!"

"Why?"

"It just is!"

"That is not an acceptable answer."

"But it's the only answer you'll get." Andy turned away from Miranda and headed for the door. "I'll take care of the picture problem", she promised and then disappeared into the hallway.

Miranda and Andy were equally stunned. This was the very first time Andy left like that. Usually this was Miranda's thing. She'd say something, then she'd turn around and leave without even a good bye while Andy never dared to leave the room before Miranda had told her to do exactly that. But this time the roles had been reversed and Andy had done one hell of a good job in walking off Miranda-like. But then again, this wasn't very surprising: She had learned from the best.

TBC...

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**THANKS FOR READING!**

**Gonna start writing the next chapter ASAP. It probably won't be up before 2014 though.**

**HAPPY NEW YEAR in advance and to all people living in the US: I'm so jealous you can go to the cinema and watch Meryl's new film already, while I still have to wait. *pouts***


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello people! Thanks for your great reviews and your support and also thanks to the impatient guest reviewers for reminding me that we already have 2014 ;)**

**The reason why it took me so long to update is that I wrote myself into a corner with the last chapter. I had many troubles writing this chapter, I re-wrote it several times and I'm still not satisfied with it. I really hope it is not as bad as I think it is but if it is I apologize. **

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"No way!"

"Come on Lilly."

"No! Why can't you do it on your own?"

"Because he knows me… Please?" Andy made a sad face and looked at her friend over dramatically. She was hoping her huge brown deer eyes would convince her.

„That look doesn't work on me", Lilly said.

"Please, Lil! I'll even give you my Louis Vuitton bag."

Now Lilly was listening. "Which one?"

"The black one."

She considered it and finally gave in. "Ok."

Andy grinned. "You are the best."

"I know I am… Now tell me what to do." Lilly said as she put a French fry in her mouth. The two of them were sitting in a small, cozy diner next to Lilly's gallery. They often met here for lunch or late breakfast.

"He is a tax attorney. So you pretend you wanna start a business and therefore you need legal counsel about the structure and tax treatment of your company. I'll make you an appointment. And once you are inside his office you look for the USB stick."

Lilly groaned. "I'm sure he won't notice it when I start looking through his drawers."

"At some point he will leave his office to get something."

"You do realize that this is a pretty stupid plan, right?"

"Do you have a better idea?"

"No." Lilly admitted.

"So do we have a deal?"

Lilly sighed. "Yes." Everything for Louis Vuitton.

* * *

"Don't screw this up, Lilly."

"Stop making me all jittery. I'm nervous enough… I have no clue about all this tax stuff."

"And that's exactly what you are going to tell him: you have no clue and that's why you need help."

"If this goes wrong and I end up in jail you'll come with me."

"We are not murdering someone Lil." Andy thrust a folder in Lilly's hands. "Go now and please try to get the stick."

"Easy for you to say", Lilly muttered and entered the big building in front of her.

* * *

Andy had never been so damn nervous in her entire life. She had come up with an entire business plan for this little stunt. She had worked on it for two days. But she had never done something like this before. Maybe her business plan sucked big time? Maybe Stephen knows immediately that this was a set up? What if this gets Miranda into even more trouble?

Andy looked at the entrance of the building in front of her, still no sight of Lilly. She was inside for over an hour already. Andy supposed that was a good thing… At least she wanted to believe that it was.

Miranda had called her last night. She had asked her what she was up to. Andy had told her not to worry. She had managed to make the impossible possible several times before. She got the unpublished manuscript of the Harry Potter book for god's sake, getting a USB stick should be a piece of cake. Before Miranda had hung up she had told Andrea not to do anything stupid.

But here she was now… doing something stupid.

Great! Very great! If this went wrong Miranda was going to hate her… No… She was going to kill her. Slowly and painfully. And she would do it just with one of her inflictive glances. And the most screwed up thing about this was: Andy would probably even enjoy it. Getting killed by the stare of the most fascinating woman she had ever met was definitely not a bad way to die.

Andy's grandma had always used to say. "Love makes people dumb… its like their brain melts away as soon as they fall in love." Andy had never really got it. She had been in love but her brain had never shrunk to the size of a peanut… she had never done anything completely stupid because she was completely and totally blinded by love… until now.

Oh my god… She was seriously in love with Miranda Priestly. It wasn't just some crush, it wasn't just "a tiny little bit in love", it was head over heels.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

* * *

"Emily!"

… No answer.

"Emily!"

"I'm on my way, Miranda", the voice of the Brit sounded a bit out of breath.

"Is it really too much to ask for that my assistant makes an appearance as soon as I call for her?"

"Of course not Miranda", Emily said as she entered her boss' office.

"Why did it take you so long then?"

"I was getting your Starbucks and the Armani dresses you wanted." Emily placed the coffee on Miranda's desk.

"What happened to the other Emily?"

"She quit."

"Good. Then I can cross firing her from my to-do list. That girl was good for nothing." Miranda took a sip from her Starbucks before she went on: "Emily, get me a new assistant and cancel my dinner with Irv, then make sure we have everything for the cover shoot tomorrow and inform Nigel that Jerome will take the pictures and not Michael. Also make sure Roy doesn't forget to pick up the girls at 4 and call my ex husband and tell him that I don't wish for the girls to come to Hawaii with him and with whatever-her-name-is."

Emily was writing all the tasks down furiously and hoped she'd be able to read at least half of what she wrote later on. "Anything else?"

Miranda shook her head no. "That's all."

Emily turned around and left. Back in the outer office she dropped down behind her desk and tried not to have a panic attack. They needed Andrea back. Badly.

* * *

After waiting another half an hour Andy finally saw Lilly leaving the building.

Andy immediately got up from the wooden bench she had been waiting on and walked towards her friend. "And?", she asked nervously. "How did it go?"

"He told me the business plan is great but he'd advice me not to open a business since I'm practically broke and the first tax payment would kill me."

"And the stick? Do you have it?"

"He never left his office, Andy."

"So you don't have it?"

"No."

"Shit!"

"I'm sorry."

"Its not your fault. Actually I'm the one who needs to apologize. I never should have dragged you into this."

"Don't worry about it. We didn't end up in jail." Lilly tried to joke. "Everything's ok."

"Not for Miranda."

"I don't get why you do this for her, Andy. Why is this so important to you? Why do you even care?"

Andrea shrugged. "I just do."

* * *

Miranda was sitting in her study, going through the book when her phone started ringing. She looked at the caller ID. Andrea.

"Look who finally has the decency to call me back."

"Hello Miranda."

"I called two times."

"I know. I'm sorry I didn't answer..."

"Annoy someone else with your countless apologies."

Andy ignored her comment. "I screwed up, Miranda."

"What do you mean?"

"I tried to get the USB stick from Stephen's office… but it just wasn't possible."

"Is there something wrong with your memory, Andrea? I told you specifically not to do anything stupid!"

"I know… and I didn't. My friend Lily met with Stephen and pretended to need some tax advice. She tried to get the stick but he never left his office. He has no clue what she actually wanted though."

"Don't make my problems to yours, Andrea. I'll figure at what to do on my own."

"I just wanted to help you."

"It's not your duty anymore."

"I know that."

"Then I can assume that you wont try to do another stupid stunt like this, right?"

Andy sighed. "I won't."

"Good Night, Andrea." Miranda hung up before Andy had the chance to say anything else..

Andy lowered her cell phone and looked at it for what seemed like hours. She couldn't just sit by and watch Stephen destroy Miranda and the girls. Miranda said she would do something but was she really going to? She was scared that a wrong move, a wrong word or a wrong action might cause Stephan to send the pictures to the press. She wanted – under no circumstances – her children to see those pictures. The entire blackmail was just possible because Stephan new exactly how much she loved the girls, he knew exactly that she would do ANYTHING to protect them, to spare them another disappointment.

Andy had to do something. She had to come up with a new plan, a better plan. Little did she know that the only plan that would pop into her pretty little head was even more stupid than the last one.

TBC...

* * *

**I know, it was short and seemed a bit like a filler chapter. I hope my writing muse will be more cooperative when I write the next chapter.**

**Thanks for reading. Have a great day/evening/night :)**


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